Day Eight - March Madness

Editor’s note…The R&R was paid by each participant themselves so that no fundraising went towards it….

Jesse’s play by play…

Today was the R&R at the Dominican Bay Resort just outside of Santo Domingo. First we had a long four hour car ride from San Juan de la Magenta. We checked in and then headed to the beach. The fact that we were tourists settled in fast as a cloud of Dominican peddlers flaunted their merchandise. Various gifts were bought by all.




(did I mention that our girls aren't camera shy??)

The ocean was beautiful and we played Frisbee in the water. After a great afternoon of swimming, the weather turned ugly in the evening. A torrential downpour followed. After much dancing in the rain by some, the R&R continued through the night. (photos available upon request )

The trip was definitely a memorable one, enjoyed by all. With many memories and friends made, the Dominican Republic will remain in our hearts forever.

Day 7 - Hasta Luego

Jargon by Jaysen…

Day seven was definitely a day to remember. It began with yet another early morning on the build site and ended in tears as we said our goodbyes...

Bamban and the Gang... (our lovable but crazy bus driver)

The day’s construction consisted of lots of brick laying and continuous rebar construction.

As the day dragged on, it got harder and harder to continue. Michelle decided to add some fun into the work, by challenging the boys to a competition in making the rebar. The teams each consisted of six people. Both teams hustled hard, and the end was tight, but of course the boys won it. With pride and glory, the boys accepted their prize; the girls having to serve them their drinks at the resort tomorrow. Good work team!

The Rebar Champions!!!

After eating yet another awesome lunch, we laid our last bricks and the construction had finally come to an end, but the hard part was not over yet, soon the goodbyes began. Some of the volunteers brought cake and snacks, and our team handed out candies to the children of the community. We ate the food and hung out with each other as the sun began to set. Many pictures were being taken, and football games broke out. As part of our goodbye ceremony, Michelle set up a fun, yet teary way to end the day. The habitat team, the family, and all of the community members who helped out in the construction gathered together in a big circle. As we stood together, we tossed around a ball of yarn and each of us held a piece. When the yarn was tossed to you, we shared something that we had learned, and said a personal goodbye. It was very emotional, and the girls began to tear up quickly. When everyone was done saying goodbye, our circle was a full web of yarn, symbolizing how we are all connected. We then cut the yarn and each of us made a bracelet to keep it as a memory of the trip.




We all learned a lot over this week, and realized how much we really do take for granted. It was an emotional rollercoaster ride for sure!

Celebration Photos....

Sarah and Bamban's daughter Daniela....

Jake and Oliver...(our translator)

Sarah and Bamban...

Some of the worksite muscolas...

Jack chillin' with the next door neighbour...

Renee and the boys....

Nat and the boys....

If you didn't notice, our girls are not camera shy!!!

TJ sharing candy with the kids...

Nat having a tender moment...

Some of the Habitat Gang...

Chicks on bikes...

Homeowners Cristina and Emmanuel with Coleen....

Our finished product... Although it doesn't look like much now, in three weeks, it will be the dream home of Humberto and Cristina...

Rebar Step Three...

Rebar Step Two....

Day Six... We will Rock You!

Sarah's Thoughts...

Wake up call seemed to be earlier than ever, eyelids heavier, and muscles more sore than the day before. When we arrived at the build site, we were shocked to see that one of the locals had stayed overnight at the build site to protect the building supplies. It was interesting to see the true dedication. It was also very nice to learn that we had access to a cement mixer but quickly changed our opinions when we realized what hard work was in store for us.

We picked up our shovels and began to dig. We dug and we dug and we dug even when we couldn’t dig anymore. From throwing the rocks and sand and cement mix into the mixer, to shoveling the cement into the wheel barrel, to dumping buckets of cement into the trenches, under the blistering sun, the team began to feel a little “malo”. Our mime engineer, whom we nicknamed “Mr Bean”, cheered us up with his animated personality.

TJ and Jake resting after carrying all the cement...

Jack filling the wheel barrel...

Jesse and Jack making cement...

Jaysen and Oliver filling the mixer...

Nat and Renee taking their turn shovelling....

TJ's face said it for all of us...This was back breaking work!!!

As the day came to an end, the team was covered in dirt. With cement up the nose, in our hair and in our boots, we headed back to the local school to play a community game of “paylotta”. With the Valdez Bidó family on our side, we stepped up to the plate, with an outfield full of future Sammy Sosas. It was a great feeling to see all of the smiling faces of the children that we were playing with. It was cool to see how happy they were to have us be there and how willing they were to give a lot of hugs.







Team DR climbing the wall after a Team Canada home run!!

We presented the school with a Canadian flag and headed home for an early night...

Jesse hanging with the kids...

Day 5 – I love a rainy day…

By Jake and his peeps...

Day 5 started with a good breakfast consisting of cereal and muffins. Everyone was exhausted from St Patty’s Day celebration. The weather was a bit overcast so everyone was ready to get their raincoats. (except that no one except Coleen and Michelle brought them to the worksite…) The shoveling was accomplished the day before. Today we had to install the rebars.

Carrying the bars...

Jesse, Sarah and Nat tying up the rebar...

It was a very exciting day as we got to work with the local students again. Although there was a language barrier, we could all tell by our smiles that we were all happy to be there. Today was nice because it wasn’t as hot as the previous days. It was not as hard of work but still as important.




Jack, TJ and I got a chance to take a break and play some football with the local kids who were helping out on the worksite. Lunch was another delicious meal and we were all reenergized for an afternoon of work. We worked overtime to finish the rebar and listened to 50 Cent all afternoon. We squished into the smelly van (actually wasn’t smelly until we go into it), ready to go home, when Bamban took us on a surprise tour around San Juan.

We had a great dinner together and shared our laughs about the day. We spent the evening with a German exchange student, Till, that we met on the build and then had a great night’s sleep!

Rebar Step One...

Day 4 - Its Getting Hot In Here

Words by Renee Coughlin...

It was another 7:30 am start in San Juan when the team met for some more amazing Dominican food. After we finished breakfast, we yet again crammed 14 people into Bam Bam’s bus, which is just a little bigger than your mom’s minivan.

We arrived at the worksite and began digging AGAIN, only it was already feeling warmer than the day before. We were very lucky to have the help of 19 local high school students who aided in forming our own little “production line.” Today was St. Patrick’s Day and we handed out Irish hats, tattoos and pins to all the students who were absolutely thrilled to be part of our Canadian tradition.

They loved our St Patty's Day gear!

Sarah and friends....

It was a great morning, and then at lunch it was time for the students to head back and the rest of our team to enjoy another delicious meal before we got back to digging. After lunch the crew stepped up again only this time each scoop of dirt, every bucket that was carried, and every wheel barrow pushed seemed to get heavier and heavier. At this time we had the help of the family we are building for. And just when I felt like I couldn’t lift one more shovel full of dirt, I looked next to me and saw the smiling face of little Manuel, the boy who’s house we are helping to build. It just gives you a burst of energy and all the motivation in the world to push even harder than before. The day went on as we all pushed through the heat and exhaustion but managed to nearly finish all the digging and a few of the girls got to try bending the rebar for step two in building the house.

Nat and Bev...Can you say workout?

The working part ended at about 4:30 and we were off to a local school where the boys got a competitive game of football going in which Jesse was on bottom of a pile up consisting of about 15 Dominican school children and most of the male members of our team from London.

Jaysen has a little height advantage...

Us and the school kids....

Jake hanging in grade four...

Meanwhile the girls had a chance to do a few sing-a- longs and dances with a few of the local school girls. The children were all very excited to see us Canadians and many of them ran up to us asking to take their picture. It was a great way to finish a hard day of work! Overall day four was yet another phenomenal one. It is an overwhelming feeling to know that you are helping to make such a difference in a family’s life, and I think I speak for the whole team when I say I can’t wait to see and experience what the rest of the week brings!